China Requires Parents to Limit Children’s Smartphone Usage

Jun 7, 2025

Occasionally these days, you might catch someone saying, “Have you heard what’s happening in China…” and then describe something the Chinese government is doing to keep a closer eye on or control its people. Of course, we strongly disagree with the Chinese government’s persecution of Christianity and how they severely limit the freedom of their citizens. Still, it’s worth paying attention to
some of the things they’re doing with technology and children. Maybe we could learn something from
them?

An article published by the Royal Geographical Society reports that the “…screen addiction is becoming a huge issue worldwide, with children particularly affected. For a parent today, one of the biggest problems to be faced is how to control and limit a child’s screen time.” Parents struggle with how to limit their children’s screen time since these devices are so interwoven into daily life. The article describes how the Chinese government is alert and aware of the problems associated with children and too much
screen time. They have mandated limits for children under eighteen which include:

● Limiting video game playing to three hours per week (only on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays between the hours of 8pm and 9pm).
● Children are to be blocked from accessing the internet between 10pm and 6am.
● Children under eight would get forty minutes of internet usage per day; children ages eight to sixteen would get one hour per day; and children ages sixteen to eighteen would get two hours of internet access per day.

Other Asian countries, including Japan and South Korea, have limited their children’s internet access as well. A law in Taiwan could fine parents up to $1,500 if their children are found to be physically or mentally ill due to overuse of electronic devices.

While increased governmental control and regulation of families is certainly not something we want or recommend, the fact that foreign governments see overuse of electronic devices to be a threat to their children is significant. If completely secular and, in some cases, anti-christian governments are concerned about children and technology use, then what about us as members of Reformed congregations?

What can we learn from the rules these governments have put in place? Are we taking the time to engage our children in discussions about technology use and then setting and enforcing appropriate limits? Dear parents, at the baptism of our children we promised that we would instruct and bring up our children in “the doctrine which is contained in the Old and New Testament, and in the articles of the
Christian faith” to the utmost of our power. This promise also requires that we set an example for our children in limiting our own internet use, seeking to “walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15, 16).

Best Phones for Kids: The Ultimate Guide

Apr 11, 2023

Questions often arise from parents whose children are asking for a phone.

“When should my child(ren) first get a smartphone?” It is not recommended that children should be given a smartphone or internet-connected portable device before age 16.

“What options, other than a smartphone, are available for younger kids who need a phone?” Protect Young Eyes has put together an excellent guide to the safer phone options currently available. We highly recommend you read this guide and consider one of these alternatives rather than a smartphone for your pre-teen and teenage children.

Click Here: https://protectyoungeyes.com/best-phones-for-kids-ultimate-guide/

*Please note, that although we have found the linked article to have valuable information, we do not necessarily endorse all information, religious views and opinions expressed on third-party websites.

Own the Problem

Feb 9, 2023

The Norwich NRC Modern Media Committee hosted an informational evening titled “Own the Problem.”

After opening by Rev. Hakvoort, Jonathan Van Maren gave some thought-provoking information and questions for parents to consider. Then, a teacher gave his perspective on interacting with teens and observing the effects technology has on them. He also demonstrated a few popular social media apps to show parents what kind of content their children are likely to be presented with. At the end of the presentation, there was a group discussion on some questions provided by the committee, as well as time for audience questions.

History is not interesting in the light of the omnipresent tyranny of the present on these devices. The King James version of the Bible becomes harder and harder to read and understand. Religious books, even very simple ones, lose their attraction in the roar of social media and becomes way more difficult for people to process.

Note: The section of the presentation from 1:01 to 1:04 contains a sobering demonstration of some popular social media apps and shows how inappropriate content is quickly put before first-time users even when they are not looking for it. The content in this section contained offensive language and lifestyle that is common in these apps. Minor editing was applied to remove foul language and sensual images.

Audiobook: A Pilgrim in Media Land

Mar 25, 2022

A Pilgrim in Media Land, a book written about teaching our children the responsible use of modern media from a Biblical perspective, was previously distributed to all members. In cooperation with other NRC Modern Media Committees, an audio version has now been recorded that can be streamed or downloaded from this page.

The Time Spent on Phones and Mobile Devices

May 5, 2021

Smart phones, as well as many other types of mobile electronics, have become useful for accomplishing many tasks. These tasks include communicating in many ways – with words, pictures, audio, video, and other formats. These devices are also useful for navigation (e.g. maps with GPS), accessing information, calculating, measuring, etc. Many tasks that required individual devices and mechanisms can now be completed by a phone set up with the appropriate apps. In addition, with so much information available through the internet with a phone, a person can easily get carried away when one subject of interest leads to other relevant information that is also found to be interesting. Consequently, parents, as well as other adults viewed as role models by children, often give a child or young person the impression, when they spend an excessive amount of time on their phone, that this is considered “normal”.

Considering these facts, we need to realize how important it is that parents do not let the use of their phones interfere with taking time to socialize with their children. The goal being that of edifying[1] them and thus seeking their spiritual, as well as earthly, welfare. Mealtimes, family projects, vacations, and other group functions should not be negatively affected by the non-participation of family members who appear attached and addicted to their phones. These occasions should be used generously to teach exemplary and biblical priorities for living a life according to God’s Word. We should always be mindful of the divine instruction for parents found in Deuteronomy 6:4-7 as well as throughout the scriptures:

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up”.

Adults should also be sensitive to the detrimental appearance of using their phone and other mobile electronics as entertainment devices. This misuse can give the impression of being obsessed with entertainment and amusement. Rev. G.H. Kersten wrote the following prior to World War II (The Night Visions of Zechariah, Chapter 40, page 203):

The…rich and the poor… all shouted loudly, ‘Let us eat and drink and be merry!’ The standard of living soared higher and higher. Entertainment and amusement were considered indispensable necessities of life. Church attendance decreased, and attendance at theaters, dance halls, and vanity fairs increased.

This description also applies to our times. Modern man generally practices a religion of having fun, and not delighting in God, who is the only true and lasting happiness for a rational human being. The amount and intensity of fun and thrill is the yardstick by which modern man measures the attractiveness and desirability of an activity. Today we have our modern media, distributed (and pushed) through the internet and mobile electronics. These devices are often used to gratify the passion and obsession for entertainment and fun. Sadly, however, it seems that there is rarely anyone who heeds Christ’s declaration in John 17:3, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” Without the knowledge referred to here, there is no true, lasting happiness and pleasure. How important it is that we realize the folly of gratifying ourselves with the short-lived and temporary pleasures of this perishing world! During the first century, the apostle Paul wrote something still applicable to us today, even with all of the social, political, and technological changes that have occurred since his time. He wrote:

“But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none; and they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away” (I Cor. 7:29-31).

By nature, our desires and priorities are evil. In light of the scriptural declaration that man is “dead in trespasses and sin” (Eph. 2:1), and that the “carnal mind is enmity against God” (Romans 8:7), this evil should not surprise us. This fact shows how necessary it is that the Holy Spirit works a spiritual rebirth in each of our hearts. Without this rebirth, our desires and priorities, including those religious in nature, are not right or acceptable in God’s eyes but are “found wanting [lacking]”.

Starting with the spiritual rebirth, the Holy Spirit leads a person into the truth: the truth of our deep fall, of our actual sins including the sins of our best deeds, and of the righteousness and the offended justice of God the Father.  The Father draws the sinner unto Christ, without which no man will truly come unto the Savior (John 6:44). When the sinner is found in Christ, the Father’s sword of justice can be put into its sheath and he can behold the Father’s reconciled face.

Let us not rest until we have experienced what David, the man after God’s own heart, knew when he wrote in Psalm 16:11, “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” The priorities in life of those that possess this desire of David will be clear and will include a discreet usage of mobile devices including phones. A modern phone can be a wonderful servant, but a poor and evil master.

[1] Definition of edify:  to instruct and improve especially in moral and religious knowledge: uplift, also: enlighten, inform (Merriam-Webster online dictionary).